A very long time ago, got my novice ticket. The test was administered by two hams that were members of The Ole Virginia Hams. Walter Short and Herb Plummer. They were somewhat "lenient" with my abilities in CW. I had a brass key, an old Conar rock-bound transmitter (which used a lightbulb in a ceramic socket, as a dummy load); an HQ-180 AC receiver, and a long wire antenna, and used a kluged setup as an antenna tuner ( a variable capacitor and a section of B&W Miniductor mounted on a piece of plywood, with jumper clips, to select taps on the inductor ). I use a knife switch to select either the transmitter, or the receiver. I found myself listening more often, than transmitting.
Due to time constraints with work, and family responsibilites, I let my license lapse.
But, in 2007, and after some studying, I decided to take my General Test. I drove to a VEC location, in Southern Virginia and when inside to take the test.
I went to the table where the testing materials were displayed. I showed one ot the examiners my Virginia Drivers License. And filled out the necessary form to take the test. I remember that I was asked if I had a calculator in my posession, which I said that I didn't (I knew beforehand, that if I was caught using a calculator, the test would be invalidated).
I was given two #2 pencils, some blank paper on which to do my calculations, and directed to a table, where I would take the test. A little over an hour elapsed, and I returned to the VEC, and handed in my exam paper. I passed with a 98. And the only one that I missed, was one that I had "sceond-guessed" - I changed a correct answer to an incorrect answer.
Then came the moment of truth. I was asked for my Technician's License. But I didn't have it, because I never took the Technicians test. And I explaind that to the VEC. He looked at me, and laughed. " I should have asked you for the license when you first walked in," he said. "So what do I do now," I asked? He handed me the exam for the Technicians License. And he explained, "The FCC doesn't care in what order the tests are taken, just that they happen on the same day."
So, back to the table again. Less than 30 minutes later, he graded my test. I got 100%.
Question - Has this ever happend to anyone else?
| WB0GXD | 2020-12-05 | |
|---|---|---|
| Taking My General Exam | ||
| I earned my Novice license in high school in March of 1972. That summer the FCC examiner came to Omaha for their quarterly trip to administer various exams, and after taking the 13 wpm test, I waited with all of the other applicants for the examiner to grade them. Soon it was my turn to talk to the examiner. My handwriting is very much less than perfect. He told me that he had a hard time reading my exam, but if I could tell him what one particular letter was, I would pass. I still remember that the letter was an ‘s’. I passed that exam and the written exam that day, with a big sigh of relief! 73 -Paul WB0GXD | ||
| W3HF | 2020-11-19 | |
|---|---|---|
| Re: Taking My General Exam | ||
| Sorry, but if a required sequence of tests is "well-documented", then those documents are wrong. Neither FCC nor NCVEC rules say any such thing, so it is up to the VECs. ARRL has these statements in their VE Manual (p49): "An applicant may take a series of exams in any order to qualify for a license. As far as the FCC is concerned, as long as all of the necessary elements are earned toward a class of license or upgrade, no particular order must be followed in earning those elements." Now if you had said that it was RECOMMENDED that the tests be taken in sequence, that's consistent with what ARRL says in the succeeding paragraph. But it is absolutely not a requirement. Reply to a comment by : KF4HR on 2020-11-16 No, I have never heard of that happening. It is well documented that test applicants must first successfully pass the Tech Test before venturing onward to the General test. And pass the Tech and General tests before taking the Extra test. Occasionally you'll hear about a brand new test applicant taking and passing all three tests at their first test session; walking out with an Extra license. (As soon as the FCC officially issues their call sign.) KF4HR | ||
| KA1VF | 2020-11-18 | |
|---|---|---|
| Re: Taking My General Exam | ||
| Fifteen years after my 1 year “non renewable” Novice license expired, I walked into the FCC (Boston, MA) office to take the Technician (5 wpm) exam. I got lucky that day because my send/receive code speed was fast enough to pass the General (13 wpm) exam. 73, Bob Reply to a comment by : WB0FDJ on 2020-11-17 I got my novice ticket in '71 after taking a 2 hr amateur radio course at the community college I was attending. A year later I went down to the FCC office to take the general and literally panicked in the code portion, oddly enough I was copying better than 13 WPM on the air. So I lived with my code records for a couple of months, then go down again. Here's where it gets weird: the examiner looks at my copy and says, "well you got enough here for 5 WPM" and gave me the general test. I'd never even heard of that. I pass the written. Congratulations, he says, your a Technician! Sure enough I get the tech license in the mail and it doesn't have that little "c" that indicated a home administered test. Great. I now have HF equipment I can't use and no VHF equipment at all. My mentor (who was actually younger than me) tells me to go back to pass the code and since I have credit for the general just go ahead and take the advanced. That time I passed and will always suspect that the FCC just got tired of seeing me. And, ironically, CW is just about all I do now! | ||
| WB0FDJ | 2020-11-17 | |
|---|---|---|
| Taking My General Exam | ||
| I got my novice ticket in '71 after taking a 2 hr amateur radio course at the community college I was attending. A year later I went down to the FCC office to take the general and literally panicked in the code portion, oddly enough I was copying better than 13 WPM on the air. So I lived with my code records for a couple of months, then go down again. Here's where it gets weird: the examiner looks at my copy and says, "well you got enough here for 5 WPM" and gave me the general test. I'd never even heard of that. I pass the written. Congratulations, he says, your a Technician! Sure enough I get the tech license in the mail and it doesn't have that little "c" that indicated a home administered test. Great. I now have HF equipment I can't use and no VHF equipment at all. My mentor (who was actually younger than me) tells me to go back to pass the code and since I have credit for the general just go ahead and take the advanced. That time I passed and will always suspect that the FCC just got tired of seeing me. And, ironically, CW is just about all I do now! | ||
| KJ6ZH | 2020-11-17 | |
|---|---|---|
| Taking My General Exam | ||
| Back in 1981, I was a Novice and a Communications Officer in the USMC. I was going to be sent to Okinawa for a year. To get a license to operate from there, I needed at least a General Class. So on April 1st, 1981, I went to the FCC Office in Long Beach, CA to take the exam. The 1st part was the 13 WPM code test which I passed. The examiner congratulated me and asked me if I wanted to take the Advanced Theory test and I said yes. I completed the test, handed it in and was informed I had passed. The examiner congratulated me on becoming an Advanced. I asked the examiner if I needed to take the General Theory since I only held a Novice license. A little embarrassed, the examiner said yes, so I sat down for the General test. Please notice that this was occurring on April 1st, and right in the middle of my last test, some clown pulled the fire alarm in the building. I continued to work on the exam during the alarm until the exam proctor directed me to leave the building due to the alarm. I was in a panic. The test was compromised! I would walk away with nothing but a code certificate! After a few minutes on the street, we were directed to return to the testing session. I completed my test and turned it in. The moment of truth was upon me. I found the General theory to be harder than the Advanced so I was not sure I'd passed. After about 10 minutes I was called up to the grader. He asked if I had only a Novice ticket to which I said yes. He said, "Well not anymore, you passed and congratulations for going from Novice to Advanced." So I was able to operate from Okinawa with the AMARS call KA6CB. Good Times! | ||
| AB3MO | 2020-11-17 | |
|---|---|---|
| Taking My General Exam | ||
| I am a nerd who sat for all three exams at one time. IO don't recall the order in which the exams were graded, which took longer than for me to take the exams. 'Twas a successful day! | ||
| KF4HR | 2020-11-16 | |
|---|---|---|
| Taking My General Exam | ||
| No, I have never heard of that happening. It is well documented that test applicants must first successfully pass the Tech Test before venturing onward to the General test. And pass the Tech and General tests before taking the Extra test. Occasionally you'll hear about a brand new test applicant taking and passing all three tests at their first test session; walking out with an Extra license. (As soon as the FCC officially issues their call sign.) KF4HR | ||
| K2JVI | 2020-11-16 | |
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| Taking My General Exam | ||
| I don't remember any prohibitions of calculators-just the programmable ones and others have to have the memory erased. When I upgraded to extra about ten years ago, i brought a basic scientific in and no issue.. 73's Bob | ||
| NN2X | 2020-11-16 | |
|---|---|---|
| Re: Taking My General Exam | ||
| I practically lived at the FCC office in NY! I passed all 5 Ham class licenses (1973 - 1980), and all 9 Commercial FCC licenses.! ( 1st Class Phone, endorsement, Radio Telegraph Lic...And so on) Hams often discuss Code exam. My take on this, it wasn't that I had to pass, i was the challenge to pass...If that makes any sense. I was one happy camper! I recall, when I did upgrade to General, and the first SSB, on 20 meters..That was very cool! Another point, I will never forget, when I got out of college, with the BSEE and went to my first Job interview in satellite communications...(In Vernon NJ) The interviewer could care less about the BSEE, but passing the Extra Ham ticket, well that was it...He was far more impressed with that on my resume than anything else, and get this, He was not a Ham operator, but he always wanted to be one... Ham radio launched my career (Satellite) for the next 40 years...I traveled the world 70 countries, all due to Ham radio...(Even indirectly found my beautiful Wife)..(Look at my QRZ page, NN2X). My son is a Ham operator as well, his Calls are KI5FJE (Adam) passed at 12 years old, but he only passed for me! Great times, super experience, I owe plenty to Ham radio... NN2X, Tom Reply to a comment by : W0WCA on 2020-11-16 Sometime in the summer of 1978, I took my novice test supervised by Dave xx#CDU. Sometime later I drove up to the FCC office in Denver and took and passed the general test never having been licensed as a Technician. As I remember, back then the only difference between Tech and General was the code speed of 5 WPM for Tech and 13 for General. The written part was the same. The Advanced and Extra tests were a whole other thing! | ||
| KJ4DGE | 2020-11-16 | |
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| Taking My General Exam | ||
| Congrats.! Nothing similar though. I took my tech in 2003 and was really happy with myself. Five years later I took my general and the VEC took a look at me and the test (long look) and told me I passed at 79 percent correct answers. I have to admit I did not really study all that hard but also I didn't memorize the answers either. Like you I think I second guessed myself almost into not passing instead of just "knowing" what the correct answers were. It was a very enlightening experience in a number of ways. | ||
| W0WCA | 2020-11-16 | |
|---|---|---|
| Taking My General Exam | ||
| Sometime in the summer of 1978, I took my novice test supervised by Dave xx#CDU. Sometime later I drove up to the FCC office in Denver and took and passed the general test never having been licensed as a Technician. As I remember, back then the only difference between Tech and General was the code speed of 5 WPM for Tech and 13 for General. The written part was the same. The Advanced and Extra tests were a whole other thing! | ||